KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital’s senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC on Friday announced that he was ending his fast-unto-death, which he started on September 26, for the time being but would resume it after Dashain.

He organised a press conference at TUTH this evening to make the announcement.

“He has not announced the exact date to resume the hunger strike,” his close aide Dr Jiwan Kshetry told THT Online from the press conference venue. “But, it will resume immediately after Dashain.:

Putting forth various demands related to reforms in Nepal’s medical education sector, Dr KC had been staging the hunger strike, the ninth in past few years, for last 11 days.

His demands include endorsement of the Nepal Medical Education Bill from the current House session, impeachment motion against the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Chief Lok Man Singh Karki and Commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak and implementation of the past agreements signed with him.

Minister for Health Gagan Thapa had been requesting Dr KC to end the strike as the Ministry was preparing to meet all of his demands related to the sector. Just on Thursday, he had organised a press conference at the Ministry and asked the veteran surgeon to end the strike.

While breaking the fast in July, Dr KC had agreed to put off the demand of impeachment against Karki as the matter was under the jurisprudence of the Parliament and a proposal seeking discussion on the issue had already entered the Parliament.

But, Dr KC raised the issue again on September 10 as the proposal of public importance about his allegations against Karki had not been discussed in the House yet.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Kumar Thapa, seconded by another NC lawmaker Dhanaraj Gurung and CPN Maoist Centre lawmaker Shyam Shrestha, had registered the proposal at the House demanding that the legislative body discuss accusations made by Dr KC.

The proposal, however, was reportedly dropped as Thapa was made the Minister for Health in the incumbent government and a minister could not file such a motion at the House.